402 



EEVIEW OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 



[part I. 



each, a little subdivided below ; iu No. 40,071 divided on outer side into two 

 plates iu right leg, not divided in left. Lateral toes nearly equal ; the outer 



Dulus dominicus, Steickl. (Hayti.) 



claw reaching to base of middle claw. The basal joints of claws short ; the 

 basal joint of middle claw adherent for two-thirds its length to basal joint 

 of outer, and for same distance to about half basal joint of inner ; the adhesion 

 less than iu Vireo. 



In the preceding description I have combined the characters of 

 the genus and the subfamily, as Dulus is thus far the only known 

 member of the Bulinas. The form is a very peculiar one, and its 

 precise systematic position is a matter of much uncertainty. It has 

 been placed by Dr. Sclater among the Vireonidae ; but from them 

 it differs in the longer basal phalanx of middle toe ; less amount of 

 adhesion of the anterior toes ; shorter tarsi ; much broader and 

 more deeply cleft gape ; less extension forward, more backward 

 direction, and softer texture of frontal feathers (the tips of which do 

 not run into bristles) ; fewer bristles about the mouth ; the broader 

 and more exposed nostrils, etc. The tip of outer claw reaches only to 

 base of middle claw, instead of nearly to the middle as in Vireonidx. 

 The genus was assigned by H. E. Strickland to the Ampelidee, and 

 the majority of its characters seem to indicate a place intermediate 

 in some respects between Ampelis and Ptilogonys, and I there leave 

 it for the present. The longitudinal streaks of the under parts, 

 although more conspicuous, are somewhat like those of the young 

 A. cedrorum, and strengthens the propriety of associating the two. 

 None of the true Vireonidae, either as adults or young, as far as 

 known, are at all streaked or spotted. 



